I am a Tombstone Tourist: someone who loves to wander cemeteries. I find it akin to visiting a museum: an opportunity to enjoy rarely seen sculpture, intricate carvings, and amazing architecture, all in a tranquil outdoor setting. This blog is about cemetery culture, art, history, issues of death, and genealogy - subjects of current relevance. I usually find something that intrigues me and makes me want to dig deeper. Care to join me? Read on...

Friday, November 28, 2014

In
the 21st century, burial is not as easy as it once was. We now
have end of life tours, end of life planning professionals, tailor-made
funerals; In fact, there is an end of life revolution occurring throughout the
U.S. as Baby Boomers bury parents, and grow older themselves. One topic that
caught my attention recently concerned larger cemeteries offering feng shui burials to their Chinese
immigrant families.

Feng
shui is “a Chinese system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation in
relation to the flow of energy (qi), and whose favorable or unfavorable effects
are taken into account when siting and designing buildings.” –
Oxford Dictionary

Feng Shui for the Bedroom

Feng shui (pronounced fung shway)
became popular in the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia during the
1990s as people sought ways to live lives more in balance with nature. By using
certain techniques and methods to affect the flow of positive chi (energy) in their living
spaces, work places and burial sites, feng shui is said to promote balance,
prosperity and harmony for those who reside there.

Ancient Egyptian Burials

Death and burial traditions are
common in all societies. Feng shui has been used for thousands of years in burial traditions. Ancient Egyptians understood the importance of man being
in harmony with nature, both during life, and after. And archaeologists have
discovered elaborate temples and tombs that adhered to these basic harmonious principles.

The Chinese believe that there is a
connection between ancestors and their descendants, even after death; that they
continue to share a comparable wavelength. In other words, if the burial of a
relative is not considered auspicious and certain requirements are not adhered
to, negative frequencies could be passed down to family members and future
generations.

Burial Feng Shui

A feng shui burial is made up of
many components. Since the body must remain intact, burial is the option most
often taken.

The first thing to consider is the location
and direction of the grave. When practicing feng shui, certain directions are
considered more auspicious than others. Also the direction the body is pointing
and the location of the tombstone are believed to be important. And the day on
which to hold the funeral must be calculated by a feng shui master.

Here are just a few feng shui
practices that apply to a grave’s physical arrangement.

1) Green grass is encouraged togrow on family members graves so relatives
water, fertilize and weed around the plots and tombstones.

2) Feng Shui discourages burying a
loved one near a tree because the roots can interfere with the coffin. Trees
are not allowed to be planted on graves either.

3) Cemetery gates must not pass over any graves because this is considered bad luck and
could lead to legal entanglements for the family.

4) It is also bad luck to step on a
grave so walkways are constructed in Chinese burial grounds.

5) The dirt on top of a grave should never be allowed to
become concave because water will pool there and could cause
complications to the grave, and the health of the family.

Graves in Arcs

6) Grave sites should be arranged in
arcs instead of in straight rows.

7) A Feng Shui master should
calculate the correct angle at which to bury the body, and also the day on
which the funeral should be held.

As
interest in feng shui grows, we can expect to see more cemeteries embracing
some of these principles. And to be honest, anything that promotes peace,
harmony and balance, even after death, sounds appealing enough to consider –
just to be on the “safe” side.

Friday, November 21, 2014

The
Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is celebrating 140 years as a
national organization this month. Founded in 1874, it is the oldest volunteer, non-sectarian
women’s organization in continuous operation in the world.

The
main thrust of the original WCTU was to seek social reform in a non-violent, Christian
manner. The women were determined to create a sober and chaste world by
promoting abstinence, purity and Christian values. Within three months members
had driven hard liquor out of 250 communities; the Temperance Movement was on
its way.

Francis Willard

In
1879 Francis Willard, the group’s second president, took office and began to galvanize
the WCTU to take a stand against social issues of the day. The
group’s slogan, “For God and Home and
Native Land” stated their priorities. Willard began
to seek moral and humanitarian reforms along with temperance.

Temperance Group

The
WCTU spoke out for abolishing alcohol, enforcing an eight-hour work day, paying
a living wage, supporting abstinence and purity legislation, campaigning for
national prohibition, providing better schools and education, and encouraging
women to become involved in the fight for women’s rights, and the suffrage
movement.

Francis Willard

Willard
led the group for 19 years, focusing on these morale reforms across the country. During
that time, it became the largest and most influential women’s group of the
19th century. Willard understood the empowerment women would gain if
they won the right to vote and lobbied around the country for
fair and equal treatment. In 1891 she became president to the World WCTU. She died in 1898 at the age of 58.

After
Willard’s death, the group distanced itself from women’s issue and began again
to target abstinence from alcohol. On January 16, 1919 prohibition was enacted
with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. But on December 5, 1933 the
so-called “Noble Experiment” ended when the 21st Amendment repealed
Prohibition.

WCTU Members in 1900

In
its heyday, the WCTU had over 370,000 members between 1920 and 1930. With the repeal
of Prohibition, enrollment went down and dropped about 100,000 members during
the 1940s and 50s. By 1980 membership had dipped down to around 50,000
worldwide. In 2012, the latest year for membership figures, the group claims
about 5,000 members still active.

During
the past 140 years, the WCTU has played a part in establishing

a
woman’s right to vote; stiffer penalties for crimes against women; shelters for
abused women and children; promoting child welfare; encouraging physical education
for women; creating uniform marriage and divorce laws; homes for wayward girls;
founding of kindergartens, federal aid for education; creation of the National
Board of Education; assistance in founding the PTA; equal pay for equal work;
legal aid; labor’s right to organize; prison reform; promotion of nutrition,
and the pure food and drug act.

The
WCTU continues to operate today, standing up for social reform, and encouraging
its members to sign a pledge of abstinence from alcohol, tobacco and illegal
drugs. Throughout the years, the organization has also taken a stance against abortion,
white slavery, and gay marriage. For more information visit the Women’s Christian
Temperance Union’s webpage.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Veterans
Day is next Tuesday so this seems like the perfect time to take a ramble down the
Blue Star Memorial Highway.

The idea for a designated roadway began when the
New Jersey Council of Garden Clubs started a Blue Star Memorial Program in 1944. The group planted 8,000 dogwood trees along a 5½-mile stretch of U.S. 22 as a living tribute to the New Jersey veterans of WWII. The roadway was then designated as
“Blue Star Drive."

The
National Council of State Garden Clubs (now the National Garden Clubs, Inc.) liked the
idea and in 1945 began the Blue Star Highway Program. The blue
star was used because it was displayed on service flags to denote someone who was fighting in a war. These service banners were originally designed
in 1917 to honor those serving in WWI, and were used again in WWII.
The flags are still in active use today and can only be made by specific
government license according to Department of Defense code.

The Blue Star Memorial Highway signs still look the same with a copper-colored background and the National
Council of State Garden Clubs logo mounted on top. The blue star is prevalent on the
sign, with the wording in gold leaf letters stating that this sign is “A
tribute to the Armed Forces that have defended the United States of America.” The plaque also designates what garden club sponsored it in cooperation with the state highway department of
transportation.

The
Blue Star Memorial Highway covers over 70,000 miles in the U.S. and can
be found in 39 states including Alaska and Hawaii. Many signs still stand where
they were dedicated almost 70 years ago.

The
program expanded beyond highways to include Blue Star By-Way markers in 1981.
These markers are used at civic and historical grounds, parks and gardens.

Then
in 1996, a third marker was added – the Blue Star Memorial Marker. This plaque is identical to the original Blue Star Memorial Highway marker but does not
have the word “highway” on it. This allows for the sign to be posted at
national and veteran’s cemeteries, VA medical centers and hospitals, and other
civic sites.

About Me

I
love wine and will take any chance to sip, savor and share it! Hence, Joy’s JOY
of Wine http://joysjoyofwine.blogspot.com,
a weekly blog about all things wine. I've been in the industry for 15
years as a winery owner, marketing director, speaker, writer, wine judge, and
100% vino girl!

I'm
also a professional freelance magazine and book writer uncorking articles about
wine, food, history, travel, cemetery history and culture. My interest in
cemetery culture led to another great, or maybe I should say
"grave" gig, my weekly blog: A Grave Interest http://agraveinterest.blogspot.com where I get to travel around the country and speak about cemetery topics for genealogy, history and
education conferences.

I suppose you could say that wine is my
passion, and cemeteries are my diversion ... into another world.

Amazon Tombstone Tourists Ideas

Subscribe To A Grave Interest

The contents of this site may NOT be used for commercial purposes without explicit written permission from the author and blog owner, Joy Neighbors. All photos are the property of Joy Neighbors and may not be used for financial gain of ANY kind.